DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH OF MEGALITH RELICS IN VIETNAM

Tóm tắt

Megalith relic is one of archaeological relic types discovered in many parts of the world. It is assumed that Vietnam megalithic relic is a division of complex Megalithic Culture in Southeast Asia. Despite findings from the early twentieth century, the study of Megalith in Vietnam is currently in the initial stage. This paper presents some 40 typical relics of Megalith found in Vietnam with three main types: Dolmen, the majority mainly distributed in the northeast mountain areas; Menhir, appeared in Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces; Stone-cist at small quantities, only found in Southeastern. Most of the Megalithic relics in Vietnam have not been excavated, except the wreckages of Hang Gon, Kim Boi, Ta Van Giay, Mau Son. Those relics usually performed as chieftain's grave, either a place for worshipping heroes, ancestors of the community, or the memorial sites. Most of the megalithic monuments in the northern mountains also had a relation to stone worship of primitive inhabitants. Based on the absolute date determining the megalithic monuments in Hang Gon, archaeologists classified Vietnam major megalithic monuments into the category of Iron Age research, dating back to 1^st century and 2^nd century.

 Megalith; Vietnam.